De quatuor coronatis

The Witness of the Crowned Martyrs

The narrative recounts the martyrdom of the Four Crowned Martyrs and the historical tradition of their veneration alongside five other faithful sculptors.

The Four Crowned Martyrs were Severus, Severianus, Carpophorus, and Victorinus, who were beaten to death with lead-weighted scourges by order of Diocletian. When their names could not be found, they were eventually discovered many years later through the Lord's revelation; it was then established that their memory should be honored under the names of five other martyrs—namely, Claudius, Castorius, Symphorianus, Nicostratus, and Simplicius—who had suffered martyrdom two years after the aforementioned group. For these martyrs were skilled in the entire art of sculpture, and they refused to carve a certain idol for Diocletian. Because they would not consent to sacrifice in any way, they were thrown alive into leaden caskets by the order of Diocletian himself and thus cast into the sea around the year of our Lord 287. Pope Melchiades therefore decreed that the aforementioned four should be honored under the names of those five, and that they should be called the Four Crowned Martyrs—this was before their own names were discovered—and although their names were found later, the custom prevailed that they should continue to be called the Four Crowned Martyrs.